Collapsible carry home container



May 18, 1943 jw -1 WELLS 7 2,319,380

' COLLAPSIBLE CARRY HOME CONTAINER Filed Afnil 4, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Rue t 7;

lv/w/am J well May 18, 1943 w. J. WELLS COLLAPSIBLE CARRY HOME CONTAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1959 y 1 1943 "w. J. WELLS 2,319,380

COLLAPSIBLE CARRY'HOME CONTAINER I Filed April 4, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet s me/UA Patented May 18, 1943 waitin COLLAPSIBLE CARRY HOME CONTAINER William J. Wells, Buflalo, N. Y., assignor to F. N.

Burt Company, Inc., Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application April 4, 1939, Serial No. 265,962

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in article containers, and more particularly to that type of container ordinarily utilized for carrying bottles or similar articles for short distances, such as delivering them to the consumer from the retailer.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a collapsible carry home container or article carrier of the class mentioned, constructed and arranged in an improved manner so that it may be readily collapsed into a small article or package for quantity shipment, and moreover, is capable of being set up into condition for use by a very simple operation that may be very quickly effected by the user.

A further and more particular object of the invention is to provide an improved carry home container or article carrier of the class mentioned, constructed of a single sheet of material such as cardboard, fiberboard, andthe like, appropriately fabricated and connectedinto a continuous or endless band or sheet 50 that it can be collapsed into a small space for shipment and also expanded or set up into condition for supporting and carrying the bottles or other articles by a very simple movement that can be quickly and easily accomplished.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved carry home container of the class mentioned utilizing a structural sheet member provided with hinge elements such as creases upon which the sheet may be bent or folded into collapsed condition, or expanded by a very simple movement into a set up condition for receiving and carrying the anticles.

Other objects of the invention will be in part pointed out in the following detailed" description of certain illustrative butpreferred embodiments of the invention, and will be in part obvious in connection therewith.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of constructiomcombination of elements,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof, parts being in section; i

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical trans-- verse sectional view showing the handle structure at the upper extremity of the carrier;

Fig. 4 is a detailed fragmentary perspective view of the bottom of the carrier of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the container of Figs. 1 and 2 in partially collapsed condition;

Fig. 6 is an end view similar to Fig. 5 but show ing the container fully collapsed? Fig. 7 is a plan view of the sheet or blank fabricated to form the container;

Fig. 8 is an end elevation similar to that of Fig. 2 but showing a modified form of the invention:

Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional plan of the lower part of the carrier of Fig. 8 showing the manner of splicing the adjacent ends of the blank together; e

Fig. 10 is a detailed sectional view of the splice shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is an end view of the carrier of Fig. 8 in collapsed condition; and

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the blank or sheet member of Fig. 8 fabricated to form the carrier.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive of the drawings for a detailed description of the embodiment of the invention there shown, it will be noted that the carry container or article carrier embodies in its construction a single structuralsheet member l5 which may be constructed of suitable fibrous sheet material such as cardboard, pasteboard, fiberboard, or the like. This structural sheet member is preferably-formed of a single integral sheet fabricated or preformed so that it may be readily set up or assembled from the preformed sheet into the form of the complete carrier container.

As particularly shown in Fig. '1, the blank or structural sheet member I5 is preformed with transversely extending hinge elements [6, ll, l8, l9 and 20. These hinge elements in the embodiment herein disclosed extend substantially parallel to each other in longitudinally spaced relation transversely of the blank or sheet member l5. While these hinge elements may be formed in any preferred manner to permit bending of the blank thereon, it is preferable to form them in the manner indicated diagrammatically in the drawings by weakening the sheet to bending thereof such as creasing, scoring or oflsetting the sheet material so as to weaken its bending resistance without materially weakening the tensile strength. A preferred manner of forming these hinge elements is to offset or deflect the sheet member ofthc complete assembled container, and the up- .jslightly or to crush or deform the sheet fibers along the lines of the hinge elements, thus weakening the sheet to bending movement.

The hinge elements or creases I 6 are located on the sheet member so as to be positioned substantially at the outer extremities of the article supporting bottom 2| of the completely assembled carrier. The hinge elements H are spaced a short distance from the hinge element l so as to provide the outer upright article supporting walls 22. The creases or hinge elements l8 are spaced at appropriate distances from the elements |1 so as to form the outer or upper end portions of the structural tension members 23 which are adapted to transmit the load stresses from the container bottom 2| to the upper handle element 26. The hinge elements I 9 are utilized principally to provide a swingin connection for the upper article supports 24 which are positioned for engagement withthe necks or upper portions of the articles or bottles B, one of which is shown in po- 'sition in Fig. 2. The hinge element is positionedsubstantially at the center of length of rtiie sheet member or blank and is in the form of an inverted Ll-bend located at the upper end of the inner supporting walls 25 of the container. The U-bend 20 thus forms the upper extremity right supporting walls 25 not only form inner sheets extending between the two rows of bottles, but they also serve to transmit the load stresses from the handle 26 formed at the upper portion of the container to the container bottom.

As mentioned, the upper ends of the inner wall sections 25 are formed with a carrying handle 26 suitably constructed to accommodate the hand of the user. The handle 25 may be conveniently formed by providing an opening 21 through one of the companion wall sections 25 and forming a vsimilaropening- 28 in the adjacent wall section 25. The handle opening 28 is conveniently formed by providing a cut or.s1it 29 in the wall section 25. 'This slit 29 extends laterally slightly beyond the adjacent ends of the opening 21. This construction provides a handle flap 30 having opposite laterally disposed locking lugs or extensions 3|. The sheet material at the base of the handle flap 30 is preferably creased or weakened along the lines 32 to provide for deflecting or bending the handle flap from its original position through the handle opening 21 as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3. When the handle flap 20 is thus deflected through the handle opening 21 into its final operative position, the locking lugs 3| will engage the wall member 25 to retain the handle flap 30 in position.

The upper article or bottle neck supports 24 are also provided by making cuts or incisions 33 and 34 through the sheet material of the wall sections 25. These incisions may be appropriately formed to provide seats or serrations 35 for receiving the adjacent necks of the bottles B. It will be noticed that these article supports 24 may be swung outwardly on hinge elements l9 away from the wall sections 25 into positions for convenient engagement therewith of the bottle necks.

At its bottom 2| the carry container is formed also with an additional hinge element 36 along which the bottom may be bent or deflected upwardly. This hinge element 36 extends across the blank or sheet member and is positioned in the assembled container intermediate the width of the bottom 2|, or in other words, between the bottom hinge elements l5 of the sheet member. As best shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the bottom hinge element 36 is formed at the connection between the adjacent bottom sections 31. For this purpose one of the bottom sections 31 is formed with an extension 38 and the other bottom section is formed with complementary spaced extensions 39. Extending from opposite ends of the supporting extension 38 are lookin lugs 40 in the form of tabs which may be readily deflected from their original position in the plane of the sheet member. The supporting extensions 39 are also formed with similar locking lugs 4|. The supporting extensions 38 and 39 and the locking lugs 40 and 4| are so positioned as to interengage or interlock with each other, thus forming a permanent connection between the ends of the bottom sections 31 as clearly shown in Fig. 4. This permanent connection is made at the factory when the carrier container is manufactured so that the user is not troubled with the assembling of these parts.

When the bottom sections 31 are thus interlocked in assembled relation as described, the locking lugs 40 and 4| engage with each other so as to hold the bottom sections 31 in permanently connected relation. However, these lockin lugs may be deflected upwardly at their bases which may be creased or scored at 42 for this purpose when they are interengaged in the manufacturing processes at the factory. Also, it will be clearly seen that the permanent interlocking connection between the bottom sections 31 functions to support the bottom 2| in its normal article supporting position as shown'in Figs. 1 and 4. For this purpose the extension 38 contacts with the upper face of the bottom section 31 to provide a bottom support, and the extensions 39 form similar contact with the upper face of the opposite bottom section 31 for a similar purpose. The two bottom sections are fulcrumed or hinged together along the line of the hinge element 36 positioned substantially along the inner base portions of the extensions 38 and 39 and between the adjacent inner edges of the interlocked lugs 40 and 4|, and the extensions 38 and 39 thus form support for limiting the downward movement of the bottom 2| along the hinge element 36. However, these bottom sections 31 may swing upwardly along the hinge element 36 as indicated in Fig. 5. During this deflection or hinging action the lugs 40 and 4| contact with each other adjacent to their base portions to retain the permanent connection at this point, while permitting the upward deflection of the bottom sections 31.

As shown best in Figs. 1 and 7, the blank or sheet member I5 is formed with cuts or slits 43 and 44 adjacent to the carrier tension members 23 so as to form article supports or cushioning members 45. These article cushions or supports 45 form downward extensions of the upper wall sections 25 and are positioned in the set up container in upright position between the two opposed rows of bottles so as to contact with the latter and cushion them againstdirect engagement with each other, thus preventing breaking or other damage and undue rattling. These article cushions 45 are appropriately proportioned so as to engage at their lower extremities with the container bottom 2| when the container is in set up condition, thus providing a brace or support for holding the carrier in its normal carrying position.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be noticed that the improved carry container includes in its construction a single integral blank or sheet member which is permanently connected into a continuous or endless sheet member. The blank is fabricated and connected in this manner at the factory so that the user has nothing ture of the carrier bottom 2Ia is varied someto do but to execute a simple movement to place the container in a set up or operative condition.

Q .The sheet member or blank is integral at the upper part or inverted U-bend 20 of the carry container, and the permanent connection of the blank to form an endless sheet unit is made. at the bottom of the container between the bottom sections 31 as described.

After the sheet member or blank I5 has. been completely fabricated at the factory, it is as- When the user desires to set up the container for use, this may be accomplished by a very simple operation requiring no particular skill. In order to accomplish this the bottom sections 31 are swung downwardly along the hinge element 36 as indicated in Fig. 5 into the completely set up position as shown in Fig. 1. The interlocking formations at the adjacent edges of the bottom sections 31 thus cooperate with each other as above described and shown in Figs. 1 and 4 so as to support the bottom in its operative position. The bottles or similar articles may then be placed in thereceiving opening between the tension members 23 and the upper parts thereof engaged by the retaining elements 24. The handle flap 36 can be easily inserted into its interlocked position as above described or this operation can be done at the factory.

It will be noticed that the bottom hinge element 36 is equidistant from the upper hinge element 20 in either direction along the opposite container walls. In other words, the distance from the hinge element 36 to the upper hinge element 20 is the same alongthe right side of the container as it is along the left side. This relationship permits the container to be collapsed into position in which theopposite walls or plies lie in close face to face contact with each other so as to occupy very little space.

It will be noticed that the tension members 23 are connected at their lower ends to outer walls 22, and at their upper ends to the wall sections 25, and that they are inclined upwardly and inwardly toward each other. Due to this arrangement there is a tendency to cause the outer walls 22 and the inner walls 25 to move slightly toward each other when the load stresses incident to 1 supporting the bottles are placed upon the tension members 23. This action results in the bottles being closely engaged by the inner and outer walls so as to retain them in position and to avoid movements thereof in the container and to avoid undue rattling or bumping together of the individual bottles.

Referring to the modified form of the invention as shown in Figs. 8 to 12 inclusive, it will be noted that the general construction and arrangement of the carry container are similar to those of the embodiment described in detail above. For this reason the corresponding parts and elements of this embodiment, those that are similarly arranged and adapted to perform similar functions, are designated by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment with the addition of the index a.

In the embodiment of Figs.8 to 12. the strucwhat from that of the first embodiment as indicated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. In this form, when the. container is collapsed, the bottom section 2 la is. folded along the hinge element 46 positioned at the outer edge portion of the bottom 2la to the left in Fig. 8, instead of being folded along a line intermediate the width of the bottom as in the first embodiment. The bottom sections 31a at the opposite ends of the blank or sheet member are permanently connected together adjacent to the lateral edge portions of the bottom 2 la opposite to the collapsing hinge 46.

These adjacent ends of the blank are overlapped with each other as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The bottom section 31a at the lower extremity of the right outer wall 22a as viewed in Fig. 8 is provided at its terminal with an extension 41 having locking lugs 48 at its opposite extremities, while the adjacent bottom section 31a has an ,extension 49 normallylying against the inner of the blank at this point. For example, theseoverlapping portions of the connecting extension 49 and the wall 22a may be adhesively attached together, or other attaching means such as staples or similar fasteners may be employed. As in the prior embodiment it will be understood that this permanent connection of the overlapping ends I of the blank are ordinarily made at the factory when the container is fabricated so that the user is relieved of making this or any other similar connection.

In addition to the hinge elements IGa, I'Ia, I8a, I91; and a corresponding to the similar hinge elements in the prior embodiment of Figs. 1 to 7, this sheet element or blank I50. is provided with an additional hinge element 5| positioned near the upper end of the wall sections a and in the vicinity of the handle 26a. This additional hinge element 5| may be formed in a manner similar to, that above described in connection with the other hinge elements I6, I1, I8, etc., or it may be scored or otherwise additionally weakened so as to provide for easy folding of the blank along the line of this hinge element.

It will be noticed that the distance along the blank or endless sheet member from the hinge element 46 at the left in Fig. 8 is substantially the same along the bottom and up the right side of the container to the additional or collapsing hinge element 5| as it is up the left side of the container and around the U-band 20a to the same hinge element 5i. In other words, the distance between the hinge elements 46 and SI is the same in either direction from the hinge 46 along the opposite sides of the blank. This relation exists also in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 6, that is, the distance in opposite directions from the hinge 36 along opposite sides of the blank to the hinge 20, is the same at both sides of the carrier. By virtue of this arrangement the container may be collapsed by bending or folding the sheet member along the hinge elements and 5| into substantially the condition shown in Fig. 11 wherein the plies of the endless sheet member lie in close contact relation with each other. This is a condition similar to that described above in connection with Figs. 1 and 7. Also, in the Additional embodiment of Figs. 8 to 12 the sheet member lid is permanently connected at the factory into a continuous or endless band which can be collapsed into a small space for shipment as shown in Fig. 11. It n also be very quickly and easily expanded into he set up or operative condition shown in Fig. 8. Since the sheet members are fully fabricated at the factory and all of the permanent connections made there, the carry container can be very quickly and easily set up by the user. This advantage is attained in each of the diflerent embodiments described.

Since certain changes may be made in the above cons truction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In an article carrier, in combination, a structural member including a single sheet permanently connected into an endless structural sheet ments extending thereacross at spaced intervals, said sheet member being deflected on certain of --saidhi-nge elements to form an article supporting bottonTand to form outer upright article retaining walls, said sheet member being deflected on others of said hinge elements to form structural tension members rising above said outer retaining walls and inclining inwardly and upwardly toward each other, and to form also an inner upright member, said sheet member having hinge elesupporting wall rising above said inclined tension members, said upright wall including two plies or said sheet member positioned in iace-to-face relation and forming a carrying handle at the upper part of the carrier said carrier having article receiving openings at opp site sides thereof and respectively opening through said inwardly inclined tension members, a supporting member or flap integral with said inner upright supporting wall and extending downwardly from the latter adjacent to said tension members and positioned between the opposing said receiving openings to form an article cushion between the articles, one of said hinge elements being positioned substantially at the upper extremity of said inner supportin wall and forming a collapsing hinge between the plies thereof, a bottom collapsing hinge extending across the carrier substantially at said article supporting bottom intermediate the opposite edges thereof and including overlapping bottom reinforcing parts of said sheet member provided with interlocking formations reinforcing said bottom against downward deflection beyond its normal supporting position and providing for upward hinge movement of the bottom on said bottom hinge, whereby the carrier may be collapsed into a compact substantially flat unit by deflection on said collapsing hinges, said supporting member or flap extending downwardly in contact relation with said article supporting bottom substantially at said upwardly hinging reinforced parts thereof so as to brace the carrier in its normal set up condition.

WM. J. WELLS. 

